Our concern for Africa is shaped by long term relationsips between Maryknoll missioners and the people of Sudan and South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Namibia. We honor their strength and wisdom and believe that African cultures and traditions often suggest solutions to seemingly intractable local and global problems.
In Africa our Global Concerns work is at times country-specific, focussing, for example, on the slow process toward peace between Sudan and South Sudan, or the genocide in Darfur; the political and economic collapse of Zimbabwe; the introduction of genetically modified seeds or the political situation in Tanzania; efforts to stop corruption in Kenya, among other issues. We also address transnational issues of great concern to all people in Africa: deep and endemic poverty; the HIV and AIDS pandemic; the call for the cancellation of illegitimate and overwhelming debt without conditions that worsen poverty; just trade agreements; the rights of women and children; and environmental degradation.
The International Organization for Migration reports on the challenges faced by migrants and forcibly displaced populations in the East and Horn of Africa due to COVID-19. The following summary and link to the full report are available at ReliefWeb: https://bit.ly/2U0Nk1o
In honor of World Day Against Child Labor, Sr. Mary Vertucci, MM, describes her work at the Emusoi Centre in Tanzania as lifechanging for indigenous girls vulnerable to child marriage and exploitation.
This Sunday, June 20, is World Refugee Day 2021. Join us in honoring this day through action, prayer, and study. During the crisis of the past year, refugees experienced heightened vulnerability and challenges…
Joanne Miya, a Maryknoll lay missioner in Tanzania, reflects on the unlikely prophets in our midst.
Watch a webinar and find more resources for taking action on child labor here.
The Vatican has stated that it supports debt cancellation for African countries struggling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic on top of other urgent crises.
Fr. Lance Nadeau, MM, who is on mission on the border of Kenya and Ethiopia, reflects on Peter’s encounter with the Gentile Cornelius and the importance of intercultural exchange for peacebuilding today.
Christine Bodewes, a returned Maryknoll lay missioner who served in Kenya, reflects on the virtue of believing without seeing.
First proposed in 2007, the project to plant billions of trees along a 5,000 mile corridor in the Sahel of Africa is gaining momentum.
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns opposes the U.S. military launching armed drone strikes in volatile northern Kenya.
Dr. David Kaulem, Dean of the School of Education and Leadership at Arrupe Jesuit University in Harare, Zimbabwe, offers Pope Francis’ concept of political charity described in Fratelli Tutti as a way to break the cycle of polarization and economic despair.
Maryknoll Fr. Frank Breen provides background on the deadly fighting that has gripped the northern part of Ethiopia since November 2020.
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns signed the following letter to Secretary Mnuchin urging him to support debt cancellation and the use of Special Drawing Rights by the International Monetary Fund to help developing countries, particularly in Africa, manage the COVID-19 crisis.
The Catholic Bishops of Zimbabwe issued a strongly worded pastoral letter in defense of human dignity and fundamental human rights as the government clamps down on dissent.
Prepared by Fr. Joseph Healey, MM, in collaboration with the South Sudan Catholic Refugees Community in Small Christian Communities in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya.
Intercommunal violence and government corruption pose serious challenges for South Sudan during the pandemic.
Father William Vos, a priest of the Diocese of St. Cloud, MN, was a member of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners, serving in Eastern Africa for 19 years.
Steve Veryser, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner in Tanzania, considers how the readings for this Sunday give us hope and strength for these challenging times.
